Third NASK Meeting

Asian students at Koc University got together for the third NASK (Network of Asian Students at Koc) meeting. A diverse cohort of students from India, Singapore, Indonesia, China, and Pakistan planned exciting events for the Spring 2019 term and learned about KUASIA over delicious snacks.

KUASIA Spring 2019 Events

KUASIA is arranging three exciting events for the 22nd of April, 2019.

-Yoga Workshop in collaboration with KUYoga at 12 pm, 2nd floor at the Sports Center

-Bollywood Workshop with KUDance between 3-4 pm at the Student Center (-1 floor)

-Sufi night in collaboration with Indian Embassy at 6 pm at SGKM

Stay tuned!

Second NASK Meeting

The Network of Asian Students at Koc University (NASK) got together for the first time during the 2018-2019 Fall Semester. We welcomed our new students coming from India, China, Singapore, Pakistan.

Turkish Ambassador to Beijing, H.E. A. Emin Onen, visited KUASIA on June 2018. He met with KU President, Prof. Umran Inan, and scholars working on China. Ambassador Onen underlined historical connections and deep-rooted cultural relations between Asian countries and Turkey. He further stated that China is one of the major economic powers in the world today and therefore, it would be impossible to comprehend the global dynamics shaping the next decades to come without understanding China. Ambassador also stressed the need for close collaboration among Turkish and Chinese academia in the field of education in terms of exchange of students and scholars. He added that since Turkey was chosen as the destination country in China in 2018, it would provide a unique opportunity to bring about many similarities between our two countries.

KUASIA’s contribution in China Daily

Recent graduate of MAVA and ARHA received Yenching Scholarship

İpek Onmuş earned her bachelor’s degree from Koç University in Istanbul, double majoring in Media and Visual Arts along with Archaeology and History of Art. In 2013, she spent 6 weeks volunteering in Suzhou, China, which inspired her interest in Chinese culture. The following year, she participated in exchange programs at National Taiwan University and the University of Hong Kong, where she had the opportunity to learn more about Chinese arts and languages. Following her graduation in 2017, she was awarded Taiwan’s Ministry of Education’s Huayu Enrichment scholarship and went to Kaohsiung, Taiwan to study Mandarin Chinese at National Sun Yat Sen University for 9 months. Most recently, she has been named a Yenching Scholar and will pursue a master’s degree in Chinese Studies with History and Archaeology concentration at the Yenching Academy of Peking University. In Beijing, she aims to explore the historical exchange between Chinese and Turkish arts, as well as to look at the ways contemporary artists of these countries draw inspiration from traditional arts. She hopes this research can expand the scope of cultural communication between Turkey and China. http://en.yenchingacademy.org/Scholars-2-0-2018-2-.html

冯氏研究生奖学金(FGF) 项目

Together with its partners the Victor and William Fung Foundation, Koç University is looking for 6 talented PhD candidates from China for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 academic years.

The Victor and William Fung Foundation have established the Fung Graduate Fellowship Program for students from China (including Hong Kong) who are admitted by Koç University to pursue PhD degrees. The Program is designed to support PhD candidates to carry out scientific research at Koç University over a four-year period, during which they will write their doctoral thesis generating new scientific knowledge.

New Book on Turkey and India

New Perspectives on India and Turkey: Connections and Debates (Routledge Contemporary South Asia Series)1st Edition

This book places the Indian subcontinent side by side with the Turkic-speaking world, both past and present, in order to understand one geographical context in relation to the other. The juxtaposition of the two countries throws up some startling commonalities as well as considerable differences, and it is the variations as well as the similarities that allow for comparability. The first comparison of the Subcontinent and present-day Turkey, the book emphasizes the importance of cross-regional comparative analysis in order to overcome some of the pitfalls of area-focused analysis. Filling a gap in the existing literature, it will be of interest to scholars in various disciplines, including politics, religion, history, urbanization, and development in the Middle East and Asia.

Link to the book:

Second Term “Chinese Consul General Scholarship” Application

Applications are open for Turkish students, learning Chinese in universities offering Chinese education within the regions of Chinese Consulate General in Istanbul. The project aims to contribute to the friendly relations between the two nations with a healthy exchange of culture and language.

Panel on BRI at KUASIA

KUASIA is organizing a one-day panel on Belt and Road Initiative with the collaboration of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS) in mid-November. More details will follow.

Chinese Classes

Chinese classes started in Fall 2017. Thanks for the interest. We will continue in the coming semesters. This is a great opportunity to learn the most widely spoken language in the world.

KU Courses on Asia

Here is a list of all available courses so far on Asia at KU:
(SOCI 350) SOUTH ASIA: SOCIETY, CULTURE AND CHANGE
(SOCI 406) ECONOMY AND SOCIETY IN ASIA
(INTL 375) EURASIA: POLITICS AND SOCIETY SINCE 1914
(INTL 451) SELECTED TOPICS: ASIA-PACIFIC

Inaugural Meeting of NASK

The Network of Asian Students at Koc University (NASK) had its inaugural meeting on the November 23rd 2017. Celebrating the diversity at Koç University, NASK will serve as a platform to unify Asian students, studying at different departments and hailing from different countries.

Work and Study at KUASIA

Come and join our team at KUASIA and help us organize our events and learn about Asia. Please contact Dr. Sebnem Koser Akcapar (email: sakcapar@ku.edu.tr) (office: SOS 266) if you want to sign up for certain events.

Graduate Programs at KU

Applications are now open for graduate programs at Koç University. Students from Asia are strongly encouraged to apply our competitive programs in English taught by highly competent faculty members. According to Times Higher Education, KU is ranked as the 11th in world’s best small universities, 15th in BRICS and Emerging Economies, 27th in overall Asia and 1st in Turkey. Currently, there are 29 master programs and 30 doctoral programs. Please check our website for eligibility criteria: https://graduate.ku.edu.tr

Collaboration between Taiwan and KU

Taipei Metropolitan Municipality Mayor, Mr. Wen-Je KO and his delegation, met with the President of Koc University Prof. Umran Inan, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Prof. Baris Tan and the Director of KUASIA Prof. Sebnem Koser Akcapar, on the 5th of February 2018, to discuss cooperation and academic exchange between Taiwan and KU. At present KU has partnerships with 6 universities in Taiwan, including National Taiwan University, National Tsing Hua University, National Chengchi University, National Chaio Tung University, National Cheng Kung University and the National Sun Yat-Sen University.